Overview
- Nepal's tourism ministry has issued 492 permits to climbers from 55 countries for this spring's Everest season.
- Roughly the same number of Nepali guides are preparing to support those teams on the south route.
- A large, unstable serac in the Khumbu Icefall has stalled movement for more than two weeks on the main approach.
- China closed the north route this year, which concentrates all traffic on Nepal's side and raises crowding risks.
- Nepal reportedly raised the permit fee to $15,000, generating more than $7.1 million in revenue as the climber mix shifts toward more participants from Asia.